


Fireflies and redemption

by Nerdydeercomputer, tripthecat



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: BAMF Lucy Heartfilia, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drunken Shenanigans, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Making Out, Multi, Post-Avatar Arc (Fairy Tail), Post-Canon, Post-Fairy Tail Chapter 545, Romance, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:42:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24035275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdydeercomputer/pseuds/Nerdydeercomputer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tripthecat/pseuds/tripthecat
Summary: The war is over and Jellal , Meredy and the Oracion seis have been pardoned for their crimes.Will Jellal continue to tread on his path with the new crime Sorciere or will a certain redhead requip mage finally make her way into his life ?Natsu , finally having ended the war against Acnologia dicovers a new side to his feelings for his blonde teammate.Gray tries to process his jealousy and his new found affection for Juvia, while simultaneously trying to fend them off .Gajeel and levy try to make their way around their teammates with their newly found secret relationship.Set after chapter 545 in fairy tail following the couples of fairy tail as they finally make their way to officially be cannon.( mainly jerza)
Relationships: Cobra | Erik/Cubellios | Kinana, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss, Meredy/Lyon Vastia, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 19
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys !!!! I hoped you like this chapter. Review if you'd like :-)

"I am aware of your circumstances and your past, you have borne the heavy burdens of your sins "

It's happening , thinks Jellal as Hisui's words resonate in his head and his heart, leaving a tingling anticipation that works its way down his neck to his toes.

Remembering all the things he's done , the people he's hurt under the influence of magic and maybe even not , he neck glistens with swear. His sins are always his to carry and he knows what to expect in Hisui's next statement.

She is a queen now and has a duty to her subjects, he understands, having made peace with what was to come soon having made his closest friends suffer , those who stood by him no matter what. A rush of panic swells within him knowing he didn't deserve to have a slightest bit of leniency or even an act of mercy although he seems to want it.

"Even though deep down , you look to tomorrow more than anyone else"

There it is. She's trying to let them all down easy. To soften the blow of being a caged bird for the rest of his existence. He knows truly, he deserves it. He couldn't help but go against thoughts when a certain flash of red streaked across his mind even as he is kneeling down to learn his fate, she is still all he can think of.

The irony, he hurt her more than anyone else, the one woman he dare say , he loves more than freedom itself .

"Henceforth I ask , for the sake of the people, for you to try to live on"

Live on? 

He looked around at his companions in confusion , all kneeling behind him and to Erik trying to make sense of the queen's words , who seems to be as shocked as he is now. 

Trusting the confused look on Erik's face , he trusts his ears as well, knowing they all heard the same thing.

She's giving them an official pardon.

For everything they've done.

For everything he's done.

For all the people who were hurt by his selfishness.

  
He's being.....forgiven?

Despite his objection to the idea , all he can think of is her , decorated with bright red locks , under him on that fateful night, with fireflies around them .

All he can think of was how such a night was ruined by him , the only justification being his need to be redeemed, which didn't seem valid now to his displeasure.

"Live on", he whispers in a manner that seemed to be useful in reassuring himself , finally opening his mouth to release words , tangible words, different from the deep breath he released, not having known he was holding it.

Flexing his fingers , he rose up , maintaining the gaze he had on the ground whilst not daring to raise his head, fearing it would all go away.

With Hisui's guidance, Crime Sorciere and the Oracion seis were escorted out of the courtroom and into the long halls of the palace. He heard a guard giving Angel directions to the building where their weapons were being held , who she thanked with a light tap on the shoulder and a meaningful smile.

  
They made their way to the entrance , with Meredy skipping along ahead , quite noiselessly, except for an occasional comment made on the palace's decor and Erik mumbling something to himself about someone named....kin?

The palace doors swung open, leaving a blinding light along with an ecstatic Meredy to face him.

Before his eyes could adjust to the bright light and rare blue sky, Meredy ran towards him, enveloping him in a powerful embrace , as he stumbled backwards to accommodate the force of her hug. Slowly and surely, he wrapped his arms around her as the feeling of freedom finally settled with him. 

Releasing him slowly, she stood in front of him with something he hadn't seen in her eyes ever since she took the boat out of Edolas, hope.

"So what now?", asks Midnight , grasping everyone's attention, flicking a long white braid behind his shoulder while maintaining eye contact with Jellal.

Ever since he recruited them to defeat Zeref, they all recognised him as their leader and as such looked to him for an answer. Unsure of himself , he looked to Meredy, who was also awaiting his next command eagerly with a bright smile , twirling a ribbon of her cotton candy hair with her finger.

Before he could answer , Cobra stepped forward surprising them all, taking his hands out of his pockets , he gave Jellal a knowing a look through the corner of his eye and Jellal nodded , understanding what he was going to say next.

"Before we return to being Oracion seis, or now Crime Sorciere , I don't care about what you do next , but I need to go to Cubelios", he said , the last word a bare whisper , as he made eye contact with the ground clenching his fists waiting for what was to come.

And on cue Sorano berated Erik , taunting him and calling him 'loverboy' . Hoteye just made a comment about how Erik's passion was just right , while speed watched them with a smile and midnight summoned his carpet from thin air and fell asleep, knowing no one could stop Angel when she reached peak sadism.

  
  
Erik glared at the ground, maintaining a stoic expression, not wanting to give anything away , only for the sharp tips of his ears being tinged with pink , which if course, Sorano didn't miss and settled to calling him cute.

Meredy turned to face them , clasping her hands behind her back , giving Jellal a look filled with nothing but pure evil.

"Jellal here would agree that we need to make our way to fairy tail as soon as possible, don't you Jellal? We can't keep someone waiting now, can we?"

Much to their surprises , his head jerked up as he felt his face grow hot as his body betrayed him , not wanting to give Angel more information than she already had received.

Turning on his heel, he made his way quickly towards the building to retrieve his armour, not paying attention to the group running after him saying something about him wanting to worship an armoured goddess and feeding her strawberries all day long , while midnight slept on his floating carpet trailing behind them , his only comment being something about Erza being scary.

  
________________________________________

  
" Okay so here's what we do" , started Meredy, her long pink tresses untied , sitting next to Jellal holding a map of Fiore in a hand while holding a pencil in another , looking all too serious for someone who enjoyed teasing Jellal every chance she got .

"Hoteye and Midnight will buy supplies in the town while Jellal and Erik find suitable transport for us . Angel and I will take care of food for the next three days. Is that okay?"  
"Well", began Angel, with a dark glint on her face that they knew all too well having being acquainted for more than an year   
" As long as Erik and Jellal get to fondle their respective lovers in the next 72 hours , I don't thi-" , her sentence was cut short by a very angry Cobra who threatened her with something on the lines of poisoning her sadistic brains in her sleep while Hoteye just haphazardly twirled around, saying something about how beautiful love was , his red beads swaying around like his orange hair.

Midnight sighed, grumbling about not buying a separate room at the inn they were staying in , owing to the ruckus made by his teammates. 

"Enough ", Jellal spoke , brushing his own embarrassment away and rising up from his seat . " We'll do as Meredy has planned and leave at six in the morning. Take anything you need. We'll meet at the borders of the city after completing our tasks . Any questions ? " To this Meredy raised a palm looking a a little confused.

With a sigh Jellal turned to ask her what she found confusing, especially when she devised the whole plan.

"Meredy?"

" So, will your kids have purple hair or will they have their traditional blue or red hair colo-"

"MEREDY" , yelled Jellal breaking his composure, but gathering his calm with a deep breath , choosing not to to disrupt the peace and stormed out of their room in the dodgy Inn for some well needed fresh air , leaving behind a wheezing Sorano who now seemed to like Meredy even more than usual.

He certainly didn't need them teaming up on him or Cobra for a fact , not wanting the poison dragon slayer to kill them in their sleep just as he'd promised Angel not too long ago.

Having made his way down the first floor of the inn and out the entrance , he felt a gust of cold wind as he scanned his surroundings . Making a note of no dark energies, he stepped out into bustling city, glistening with a golden light as lamps hung around on almost every entrance of the houses around him , while a few magical carts drove by amidst the quiteness that otherwise filled the capital .

Hands in his pocket , his memories drifted off to a certain redhead before there was a sudden loud sound , signalling an explosion that scattered his thoughts as he turned around to find the source which was thankfully not from the inn he was staying at , but somewhere quite close behind.

Before he could think of it's cause , he sensed a familiar magic and a bright fire accompanied by a noise that sounded like a roar.

Smirking , he took his hands out of his pockets making his way to the fire , having figured out that he wouldn't have to travel all the way to fairy tail after all.

  



	2. Fire and Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu feels sick. His heart is beating faster and his stomach feels weird , especially around a certain blonde . Gray is still conflicted about his feelings for Juvia and Jellal....is getting drunk?

Lucy was mortified. The party the guild was having , to mark the end of the war took a very strange route. It was expected , that was something she could agree with . What was beyond the comprehension of the celestial mage was how a very drunk gray , made a perfect , delicate and yet firm ice sculpture of Juvia holding an umbrella , her long dress decorated with tiny snow flakes as she smiled . She would never know how he made such a perfect representation of Juvia , even when he was in such a drunken haze evident as he yelled at people to compliment the ice sculpture and threw ice shards at them when they did.

Lucy turned to look at the water mage sleeping, her head resting on a clothed table, who was not surprisingly, drunk as well. If only she could see Gray now , she'd probably have them on the next train to Magnolia to prepare for their wedding. To her it seemed like Gray liked to have a physical representation of the woman he ( he's yet to admit) loves , just like Juvia made baked goods with Grays faces on them, not to mention the many Gray dolls in Juvia's room at Fairy Hills.

Taking a sip of her champagne , from the delicate glass, she plopped down on one of the chairs at the table across Juvia , pretending not to know what was happening.

To think that the rest of the guild would stop gray was completely out of the question , when everyone, including master Makarov , was completely sloshed as well. 

She looked around and saw Charles making Happy and Lilly her slaves , yet again and ordered them to get her more fish , while she sat on Happy's back , yelling at him under her when he didn't move.

Her only hope to diffuse the situation, Erza , was currently having a moment to herself on the table to Lucy's right , crying and hugging a bottle of champagne tightly as she conversed with it . It seemed that when the bottle didn't respond to her , she threw it on the ground, shattering it , and then proceeded to cry over its remains.

Natsu however, looked strangely calm , staring at her silently , before he got up to grab another drink from the table , throwing a glare to the waiter who tried to stop him , probably trying to avoid them from destroying anything else , but quickly backed down when Natsu nostrils flared and he breathed out angry red fire .

'That's weird' , thought Lucy as she got up to make her way to him , and tapped his back softly while he was chugging down a bottle of sake. Turning around to face whoever disrupted his drinking with a glare, Natsu's eyes softened as he noticed the girl standing in front of him .Putting sake back on the table , much to the waiter's joy who snatched it away the first chance he got , he gave her a questioning look followed by an uneasy expression as he clutched his stomach.

"Natsu? What's wrong? Do you need some water ?" , she said , stepping towards him , almost shocked when he backed away a little.

" It's nothing Luce , I think I might be a little sick " , he said , feeling his heart beat faster and his face grow hot, like it did many times before. He still couldn't figure out why he was feeling the way he did. Was it something he ate? After effects of the demon seed? Lost in his thoughts , he noticed the worried expression on Lucy's face and gave her one of his grins to ease her worry a little , his face heating up once more when she smiled at him. 

" Sorry Luce , I think I gotta go" , he announced abruptly brushing past her shoulder as he tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down. He made his way around all the drunk guild members to Happy . Finding the blue exceed passed out and Charles nowhere to be found , he seized the opportunity to grab the cat , and walked abruptly across the room to take him home 

Moving in a hurry , he felt his elbow bumping into something hard , followed by a crash , startling everyone around the room . He turned over to find shards of ice on the floor and a very angry ice mage glaring at him.

"FLAME BRAIN!! DID YOUR FIRE FINALLY ROAST YOUR BRAINS?? LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO JUVIA!!"  
To this Juvia suddenly awoke , barely aware of her surroundings as she got up to sit back in her chair and look at the scene before her.

'oh no' , thought Lucy as she glided to a nearby table , hiding under it to take shelter for what was to come.

" It's a fucking ice sculpture and it was horrible anyway, I just did you a favour popsicle" , said Natsu nonchalantly, folding his arms across his clothed chest.

" THAT'S IT FLAMEFREAK I'M GOING TO FREEZE YOU AND DONATE YOUR FROZEN BODY TO FIORE'S MUSEUM!! THEY WERE RUNNING OUT ON SALAMANDER SPECIMENS ANYWAY "

" BRING IT ON STRIPPER , THE WAITERS ARE GOING TO SERVE YOUR BURNT ASS FOR DINNER SOON ENOUGH " 

Sweating nervously, Lucy looked for her celestial keys to summoning Virgo to get her to dig a tunnel out of the soon to be destroyed restaurant ,only to find them somehow attached to Happy's backpack. She had to get out of there . SheNwas not going to pay for the damages yet again. She had three months worth of rent to pay and would not stick around to apologise to anyone either.

She flinched as Natsu roared, his fists covered in flames as he breathed out fire in Gray's direction , who launched an ice shield , his body being covered in the black marks of his devil slayer magic , who was also now completely naked , having stripped out of his tailored white suit.

Juvia , who was now fully awake , was cheering on Gray from the sidelines , finding the entire ordeal to be quite romantic in nature when she figured out he was angry over her sculpture breaking , from the hushed whispers of spectators who hadn't passed out yet .

Flames engulfed Natsu's whole body and flew off of him , as he launched himself at Gray almost reaching him in a single stride , his fist aiming for his face , before he collapsed mid attack , nauseated and mumbling something about moving too fast and drinking too much.

Before Gray could stomp over to him proudly and assume his victory , he collapsed as well , grinning because he won their match but mostly because he was completely drunk. Grabbing his clothes , Juvia rushed to his side and dragged him out of the party , kicking the door with her boot as gray trailed along , unconscious.

Lucy moved fast , running out from under the table towards happy , grabbing her celestial keys from the blue cats bag first before picking him up, then moved towards Natsu and grabbed him by his scarf , hauling him towards the exit.

The entire hall was covered in ice and more than half the decor was burnt by Natsu's fire . She knew Natsu had no money and she would have to pay for all the damages herself ;escaping was her only choice. As she dragged him across the corridors and out of the building , making her way to the maze-like garden outside , she looked for a bench to lay him down while she waited for him to wake up. She was too tired to drag him anywhere further and doing so would also gather much unwanted attention.

Finding a bench between a patch of daisies and lay him down there with the cat on top of him and she sat beside him .

Summoning Taurus , she asked him to keep a watch for anyone who would come to ask them for payment , as he mooed and agreed to her request and ran to the entrance of the garden .  
___________________________________________________  
The place was a mess 

Jellal chuckled to himself as he saw the remains of what was then , he assumed by the unburnt decor and alcohol , was a party. Seeing ice and burnt curtains, he didn't have to think too hard about who was responsible for the mess , but wondered where they went and why they weren't stopped. Looking at the passed out guild members and smelling the strong scent of alcohol on them , he figured at least one of his questions were answered.

"JELLAL MY BOY"

He whipped his head around to look at none other than the master of all this chaos , Makarov , who was sitting on one of the tables , holding two bottles of alcohol. His face was incredibly red , the effects of drinking more than one could stomach .

With a smile he moved towards the man who stood up on the table , his small stature almost reaching Jellal's height. 

" Hello Makarov , I take it you enjoyed your party " , said Jellal, to which the said man laughed in response , hiccuping as he tried to choose his next words.

" YEAH , I DIDN'T PAY FOR IT , I BLACKMAILED THE PALACE MINISTER " , yelled Makarov, laughing to himself, finding everything funny , Jellal only winced at his loudness.

" That sounds....nice. Have you seen Erza ? I had something to ask her"

To this , Makarov gasped dramatically as he grabbed the collar of Jellal's coat and yanked him closer. His voice softening , he giggled as he moved to whisper in Jellal's ear 

" Are you going to propose?" , He asked , giggling again as he took a shot of sake. To this , Jellal blushed slightly and coughed , yanking his collar from the master's grip slowly, suddenly feeling very stuffy as he adjusted it.

" NO , I mean , no I just wanted to talk to her abou-" 

" NONSENSE , YOU HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH, YOU HAVE MY BLESSINGS"

" But I'm not going to pr-"a

" NOW, I KNOW HOW NERVOUS A MAN CAN GET . THE BEST REMEDY FOR THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SAKE " 

" I politely decline , now I have to go fin-" 

"Now son , if you need tips for your wedding nigh-"

Jellal turned around as fast as he could , not wanting to look at the master while his face was getting hotter. It didn't help that Erza was nowhere to be found but he had turned around to look a laughing Mirajane directly in the eye, who was sitting at a table not too far away , watching the whole thing . Turning around again to avoid looking at the she-demon , he chose his next words carefully, trying not to get Makarov too excited.

"Look...uh I'm not marrying anyone and there will be no we-wedding night , I just need to find Erza and tell her I..I" , he stuttered.

" HERE TAKE MY BOTTLE " , yelled Makarov, as he thrusted a bottle into Jellal's hands and gripped onto his coat .

"DRINK UP BOY , I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO UNTIL THE WHOLE BOTTLE IS EMPTY"

Jellal tried as hard as he could to get the old man to let go of his coat, but harshly underestimated his strength and was yanked back . Sighing, he figured he had no other option and took a swig of sake directly from the bottle.  
___________________________________________________

While Juvia dragged Gray through the building, he woke up , startled as to why his back was burning slightly and looked up to see Juvia smiling at him , and figured out he was being dragged out of the party half naked.

Standing as fast as he could, he sobered up almost immediately as grabbed his clothes from Juvia's hand , not making eye contact with her and turned around to put to them on.

He looked back to her , embarrassed , thanking her softly for grabbing his clothes, to which she only smiled at him in response.

"Gray-sama"

"Yeah?"

"Juvia saw the ice sculpture Gray made , she thinks it's a wonderful way for him to express his feelings" , she said , clasping her hands behind her back and smiling softly at him , her dress swaying .

The colour drained from Gray's face as he remembered what he did not too long ago. He remembered ,the ice sculpture and all the yelling. Him attacking people for not calling Juvia beautiful. His hands rose slowly as he dug the heels of his palms his eyes, feeling a slight headache begin remembering what he did. 

"Gray?"

"What?"

She cringed a bit at his harsh tone and stepped closer to him , trying to figure out why he was acting the way he did. 

"Are you okay?"

" No I'm not Juvia. I just made a fool of myself in front of the entire guild" , he said , letting out a huff of frustration, kicking the carpet angrily. 

" Juvia doesn't think Gray made of himself , she thinks it was a sweet way to tell Juvia he likes her" , she said , placing an arm on his shoulder.

' Do I really feel that way , do I like Juvia? ' , he thought to himself, thinking all the way back as they both stabbed themselves to avoid fighting one another, to the time she told him she freed his father. 

Brushing her arm off of him , he gave her an icy look , looking a little scared than menacing.

" Juvia I don't know! I don't know how to answer you ! I know I told you I'd give you an answer after the war , I don't know if...I return your feelings " , he said , taking a step away from her , lifting his hands from his eyes and crossing them against his chest.

" Gray can have all the time he needs , he doesn't need to force himself to-"

" I need to go"

"Okay , Juvia will accompany you "

" No Juvia. I need my space. I need time to think" , he said , storming out of the building, not looking back , at the hurt on Juvia's face.

Juvia had not seen that expression on his face since the time he first saw Lyon after years , since he contemplated freeing Silver from the necromancer.

Shaking her head , she walked out of the building to get some much needed rest of her own. Not wanting to think about Gray or anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!! I hoped you liked this chapter. I appreciate reviews!!! Also the next chapter is mainly Jerza and another shiiip.


	3. Drunk in love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erza and Jellal's drunken escapades. Could it lead to the beginning of a romantic relationship?

Being completely drunk and uninhibited was not how Erza planned to spend her evening .She was going to very slowly sip on wine and make occasional small talk before raiding the dessert bar for strawberry cake.

Quite contrary to the idea of how her evening would go, she was chugging on her third? or maybe fourth bottle of champagne while trying to maintain her balance on the, now strangely uncomfortable, chair. Making a wary attempt to stand up, she wobbled a little, clutching a bottle of champagne and held onto the edge of the table for support . Her face flushed, she tried to figure out how to use her feet again.

A few frivolous attempts later, she was on her way to the door, freedom and fresh air awaiting her, almost successful if not for the hem of her long purple dress which was now snagged by the tip of her sparkly red heel. She knew she shouldn't have let Lucy coerce her into wearing the dress, but she insisted, knowing all too well how to manipulate Erza. She went as far as bribing her with cake to add the "statement" red heels to her look . Now, the deadly combination ruined her, not so perfect, balance as she felt herself being pulled down by a force she recognised as gravity. 

Squeezing her eyes shut and too drunk to try and keep herself from falling, she braced herself for contact with the hard floor and was surprised when she found herself, very surprisingly, in an upright position, sitting on something that was..... _soft?_

A light groan from behind her seemed to set every gear in her mind into focus as she stood up all too quickly, now falling in the opposite direction, head first, when a hand reached forward , grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her feet. 

Her head pounded from moving too much as she wondered whether she should apologize to her saviour for crushing them when she first fell, or thank them for keeping her from bruising her head when she lost her balance again.

Turning around to face the person , her lungs refused to let in any air when she spotted the blue hair and tattoo she grew acquainted with over the many years she'd seen it. The man sported a very furious blush, spreading across his face partially from being sat on and partially from drinking a month's supply of alcohol.

She finally let go of the breath she was holding as he cleared his throat, attempting to cover his read face with his palm.

"Je-Jellal?"

"ERZA! You- you're here! That's great! Isn't it makarov- he's gone. Okay."

"Wait. How are you here? Weren't you taken away by the palace guards? Won't they be looking for you??"

" I got away and I'm here looking for you so-"

"WHAT?", she bellowed, grabbing both his arms with her hands , shaking him furiously, as she looked around suspiciously for any guards who might've come to take their runaway prisoner back.

"WHY WOULD YOU- ", stopping herself mid sentence, she took a deep breath trying to compose her racing heart and looked behind her to make sure no one was watching them.

" Jellal there are palace guards who will be looking for you ! You can't just run away! "

"No one's looking for me. Why would they ?"

Erza was baffled, she knew he was drunk . He reeked of alcohol. She was drunk too, except she could still think logically, to an extent . Although, to her it looked like there were two Jellals and she tried making eye contact with both of them, which only lead to the pounding in her head to worsen. Despite everything, she finally got to see him and she knew she wasn't going to let the guards take him away. Not again. They'd have to get through _her_ .

"Look Jellal, we have to hide you. We can't let them get to you. We have to get outside the city. Although it would be safer to hide in plain sight. Why are you even here?"

"Oh, I came here to do this ", he announced.

"Do what?"

With that, he leaned down, arms still bound by her hands and softly placed a kiss on her lips, pulling away after a few seconds to give her a small smile, leaving a very confused and dazed Erza to look up at him.

He could feel his heart trying to leap out of his ribs, feeling a new confidence that had settled within him, courtesy of the alcohol.

Erza was frozen in place, her hands dropped to her sides as she tried to make sense what had just happened. Her face heated up, its colour outshining her vibrant hair as she covered her face with her hands.

_Did he just?_

She looked upto him again, only to find him chuckling slowly as he looked down at her .

' _That damn look'_ , she thought to herself. Wondering if she should punch the smugness off of his _very_ handsome face, or kiss it at the same time .

She silently opted for the latter before she looked around, panicking once again . There was no one in sight except drunk guild members and very confused waiters. 

She could _maybe kiss him again_.

 _'Later '_ , she decided. She had to hide Jellal before the palace guards arrived.

Inhaling deeply for the second time, she grabbed his hand, considering shaking him once more to sober him up.

"We have to get out of here , we can't let anybody see you! "

" With that look on your face, I wouldn't want anyone to see you either, Scarlet", he said smirking at the way she blushed again.

" I have to hide you" , she announced, dragging him along as the grip on his hand tightened as she calculated the various spots the city could possibly have that could keep them hidden.

" You can do whatever you want to me"

Choosing to ignore his comment, she grabbed her dress with one hand and tugged him along with the other, racing to the door before anyone could spot him.

__________________________________________________

" Gihee, we finally made it out of there shrimp" , said Gajeel , grabbing Levy's hand to place a small kiss on her knuckles.

"I know! Jet wouldn't stop talking to me about this mission we have to go on.", said Levy, blushing slightly.

"Why can't you just ditch the sidekicks and come on a mission with me? I'll make it...quite memorable you know?", he said, cocking an eyebrow at her, as he sat down with his back against the wall, looking at her standing in front of him .

"I'm sure Lilly would love that", she said, laughing softly at the sour expression Gajeel made, as she made her way to sit in front of him.

" We can go alone"

" And what explanation would we offer to our guild mates?"

" We can offer them a kind 'fuck you' instead", he said, laughing as she hit him slightly on his chest, pouting.

"Gajeel you know I want this to work out, don't you? But I'm just not ready to tell people yet"

His expression softened at her words as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit between his legs. He knew she wasn't ready, but he couldn't help wanting to show her off to everyone and stake his claim. Especially to her teammates.

"I know Lev, I told you to take your time. So don't worry", he reassured her, cupping her cheek softly and beckoning her to look at him. His expression hardened at the pained look on her face as he brushed a stray hair away from her eye 

"Forget about that Lev, why don't we do what we came here to do instead?", he said with a grin, grabbing her by the waist with the hand that wasn't busy caressing her cheek.

With a smile, she reached for his face, pushing her lips against his as he tilted his head, his fingers sliding through her wild blue locks.

Her hands made their way to his face, holding him there, as she manoeuvred her lips against his, feeling a slight jolt as she felt the piercing on his lip. Wrapping an arm around his neck, she leaned into him, licking his bottom lip with her tongue as he opened his mouth without hesitation, his tongue melting with hers as he pressed them closer.

Breaking their kiss, he sat back to look at her, smoothing the curls on her face behind her ear.

" Fuck Levy, you drive me crazy do you kn-"

"JELLAL WALK FASTER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SPEND YOUR LIFE WITH RATS BEHIND BARS- oh no" , said Erza, covering her mouth with her hand as soon as the words left it, regretting ever wanting to take the path behind the building, which she felt was safer for Jellal.

The sight before her was truly intimate, with Levy between Gajeel's legs as he grabbed at her waist possessively.

"ERZA"

"What the fuck, Titania!?"

"Uhhh, I didn't see anything! carry on!, come Jellal we have to-"

"OI WAIT", yelled Gajeel, getting off of the ground while a blushing Levy stood up slowly, embarrassed as they caught her in a very compromising position.

Erza spun on her heels to face the duo, not making eye contact with either of them and keeping her gaze to the ground, while Jellal just looked bored .

"You can't just run away after seeing that "

"Please Erza, you cannot tell anyone! "

" Erza where are we going?", interrupted Jellal from behind her, too drunk to comprehend what was going on and too impatient to find out.

"Wait a minute", said Levy, looking back and forth, at Erza and Jellal's entwined hands to the blush on Erza's face.

Smirking to herself, she folded her hands across her chest and stood beside Gajeel.

"What are you two doing?"

"Well with the way she was dragging me out of there, we're going to do something similar to what you two were doing, I guess", said Jellal casually, tightening his grip on Erza's hand and causing her blush to deepen. She gave him a stern look and tried to tell him off for making jokes, only to find out he had a very serious look on his face.

"Gihee Titania's been hiding something from us", said Gajeel, smirking at the redhead as he played along with Levy.

Looking at the the both of them, something dawned on Erza. They were both members of the ministry, which meant they could take Jellal into custody. Which also meant she had to get out of there. Fast.

Sighing, she stepped in front of Jellal to barricade him from the couple as she calculated her next exact moves.

"Alright, since there's no way out of this, if you keep this to yourself we'll keep whatever it was that we saw to ourselves. And no informing your superiors."

"Deal", said Levy, grinning, leaving a skeptical Gajeel gawking at her, wondering why she gave in so easily.

"That's done then. Let's go Jellal", said Erza, giving them a frightening look and dragging Jellal behind her

"Erza can we make out against a wall-"

"NO", she yelled, turning around the corner, her heels clicking on the hard pavement of the sidewalk, as she stormed out of there,while Jellal turned around to give them a small wave before they disappeared into an alley close by.

Gajeel turned to look at levy, curious as to why she didn't try to inquire further.

As if she read his mind, she turned to face him, smiling up at him.

" Erza thinks Jellal is still under custody and she'll do anything to keep him safe. Also they're both very drunk and their story is far more embarrassing than us being caught. I think we'll be fine, we have good leverage"

"Wasn't he pardoned today?"

"Exactly, and I want to see where this act of theirs leads"

"You're evil, you know Lev?"

"That's why you love me"  
__________________________________________________

"Erza, wait. How far are we going to go?", said Jellal, stopping before Erza could drag him out of the dark alley and to heaven knows where.

"You're right, we can't go too far. Not at night. Let's look for an inn and stop by for the night.", said Erza, almost stumbling again, holding onto Jellal's hand for support.

Drunk or not, Jellal was sure he wasn't going to refuse an offer like that in his lifetime.

"I think there's one around the corner, let's go"

All of Jellal's drunken neurons seemed to light up at that sentence as he sped up, dragging her behind him this time.

Looking around, he spotted a dim light with a flickering "inn of the sky" sign in the dark. Before he could utter a word, she ran ahead of him into the rickety inn as he jogged slowly after her, the action making him very nauseated.

"WE NEED A PLACE TO HIDE THIS MAN. LEND ME YOUR SERVICES" , Erza yelled at the innkeeper, who took shelter behind the counter at the entrance, trying to protect himself.

Jellal sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder, looking at the frightened owner.

"She means, we need a room"

With a shaky hand, the man reached to the key holders behind him and threw the first key he found at Jellal, not wanting to make any sudden movements that would anger the red-haired requip mage before him.

The key fell before Jellal on the dusty carpet as he picked it up, taking Erza's hand in his and made his way up the stairs of the inn. Erza trailed swiftly behind him , giving the owner a terrifying look.

They made their way through the dusty halls of the first floor, with cheap paintings hanging on the wall. On finding their room , he grabbed the keys and opened the door, ushering her inside before he closed the door behind them. With a sigh of relief, he looked behind him, only to find Erza waiting for him to turn around.

"Jellal"

"Yes?"

"Do you think anyone will find us here?"

"I don't think so". And he really hoped nobody ever would.

"Good" , she said, taking long strides across the room towards him, standing in front of him once she reached him.

"Because I was thinking of you kissing me, the entire time we were running"

Jellal's eyes widened at her confession and before he could say anything in response, she closed the distance between them, his back touching the door as she moved closer to him. She finally stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him fully on the lips.

He reacted almost immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist, as her hands found their place on the sides of his jaw.

She stepped closer to him, deepening the kiss, wanting him to feel her desperation, to feel how badly she wanted to do kiss him ever since she saw him at the tower of heaven. His hands reached for her hair, fingers tangled in the red locks as he undid the bun on her head and broke their kiss, only to spin her around and pin her against the door, trapping her hands between them.

She gasped at his actions and he took the opportunity to kiss her again, this time, letting his tongue slip between her lips as she granted him access, tasting the remnants of alcohol, as she traced his mouth, memorising it.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she met his urgency with her own and softly bit down on his bottom lip with her teeth, to which she received a groan of approval.

His hands travelled to her back, sliding along the dip of her waist, as he picked her up, lifting her off the wooden floor and against the door, her legs wrapping around his lean hips in response, as he leaned back to look at her with hooded lids when she gasped for air.

He leaned back in slowly, securing the back of her head with his hand so she wouldn't hurt herself. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she kissed him deeper, with more need .

He pulled away again only to dip his head down , changing his target to the soft spot on her neck. Her grip tightened as he sucked on her pulse, and she let out a soft moan at his ministrations.

It only seemed to encourage him as he gently bit down, to mark her as her neck tilted involuntarily. She reached for his face as he looked up and gently kissed him again. He backed up slowly, the back of his legs hitting the arm of a sofa in the room as he fell backwards. Lying on the sofa, she straddled him, looking at him with an expression he could only describe as lust.

Erza didn't waste a single moment as she undid the buttons of his shirt, kissing along his neckline and placing feathery kisses on his now bare chest as he could only moan in response to her actions, holding against him.

His hands grabbed at her dress as she understood his request and slid the straps off her shoulders, helping him slide it off her.

Before they could go any further, the wave of nausea hit Jellal again, as he passed out on the couch, leaving a very confused Erza on top of him.

Her confusion didn't last very long as she felt herself grow tired too, as the adrenaline rush their escape provided receded, and lay down on his chest, too tired to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a review!


	4. Really?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!! Leave a review if you like this chapter! Updates will be regular in a while

"JUVIA!"

Juvia spun on her heel to look at the voice calling for her, clutching her dress with one hand, making up her mind to tell Gray off if he had come after her.

Looking at the person running towards her, she silently cursed at herself for feeling disappointed when the person jogging towards her was not the ice mage she was expecting . Masking her worry with a smile, she greeted the man with a small wave, wondering what he was doing there.

"Lyon! Juvia didn't know you were still here"

"My guild is still under construction", he said sheepishly, " i was just looking around and spied a little blue hat", he said, smiling as he pointed the warm hat Juvia loved to wear. "I hope you didn't mind that I came to say hi. You looked a little upset"

"Juvia's fine Lyon! She just had a little too much wine", she said , brushing off his suspicion and plastering another smile on her face, an action that Lyon could tell wasn't real, having known her for years and witnessing an event not too long ago. 

"So you're telling me, you weren't running away after fighting with Gray?"

"Ho-how did you?"

"You're kind of obvious, I also saw you two argue at the entrance of the building. I didn't mean to pry, but Gray was being kind of an ass"

"Don't say that abou-"

"You're allowed to be angry at him, you know?",he said, shoving both hands into his pocket as a breeze of worry passed through him, looking at her expression .

"But-"

"If it was up to me, I'd never treat you that way."

"Lyon I've told you this, I-"

Lyon looked at her, smiling. He looked happy, She could recognize the look on his face, having chased after the one she loved for years now. She could tell it wasn't meant for her. Looking at him, all she could do was smile back.

"Who is she?"

" What? Well I- uh"

"Come on Lyon, Juvia knows what lovesickness looks like"

"Ah crap, there's no keeping anything from you, is there?"

"Nope", said Juvia, grinning at his flushed face, grabbing the edge of his sleeve and leading him to a ramen cart.

"I-um, well"

"She must be really special if she gets Lyon all flustered!", said Juvia, lifting up the banner covering the front of the ramen cart and dropping Lyon's sleeve to pull out a stool, grinning cheekily at the owner of the cart when he gave them a little "Welcome" .

Patting the seat beside her, she smiled at Lyon's dreadful expression, when he finally realized there was no keeping anything from her.

"Is it too late to run?", he said, chuckling softly at her eagerness before sitting down beside her.

"Juvia is made of water, Lyon can either drown or confide in her, it's entirely up to him", she joked, managing to get a tiny laugh out of him.

He turned towards the owner to place his order, shifting in his seat to face her as he read the menu,  
before he looked up, eyes widening for a fraction of a second and smiled at something...behind her?

Before she could ask him about it, he set the menu card down and turned to the owner.

"We'll have two miso ramen. Is that okay?",he asked Juvia, who nodded at him in approval, forgetting about his strange behavior.

"Alright", he said, inhaling deeply, " it's Meredy", he huffed out.

Juvia couldn't help the gasp that came out of her, covering her mouth with both hands, unable to control her emotions, being partially uninhibited by the drinks she had earlier.

"I was...quite taken by her skill when I fought alongside her, with you and Gray, you remember?. I didn't say anything about it, but we kind of kept in touch after...you know, Ultear. I think she likes me too. Even if she hasn't expressed it openly."

"Oh, Juvia would've never guessed!", she said, Meredy's letters to her about a handsome silver haired wizard now making sense.

"I know how close you both are, I understand if you have any object-"

"No! I love Meredy, and you too! I know you would never hurt her!", exclaimed Juvia, startling the owner by standing up from her seat, with her hands on the table, as he placed two bowls of ramen in front of them. Looking sheepishly at the man, she sat back down, clearly not as sober as she thought she was.

Blinking twice at her outburst, he laughed softly and separated his chopsticks, slurping his noodles while looking at something behind her again, as he tried to figure out his next words. Juvia softly blew on her noodles, wondering what he was looking at, hand going to her hair subconsciously, in case there was something in it.

She was serious about what she said, Lyon understood, not having referred to herself in third person.

"I appreciate it Juvia, but even if she does like me, she won't act on it. I'm sure that she prefers me as a friend. I don't want to ruin things by approaching her romantically.

Juvia was just about to speak when he grabbed a piece of meat from his bowl and stopped her by putting it in her mouth, clearly not wanting to be interrupted.

"How did we get off topic? Weren't we talking about the ice princess?"

"Juvia is fine she-"

"Come on, don't give me that shit. Tell me how you really feel"

"But Juvia doesn't-"

"Juvia", he said sternly, not wanting to go off topic.

"Fine! He makes me angry! And so very confused! He ignores my advances most of the time but somehow seems to only notice me when I don't dote on him! He makes me so mad, but what makes me even more mad is how empty I feel when i'm not around him!"

"I understand"

"You do?"

"Yeah, i write to Meredy almost every week and she only seems to be half as enthusiastic when I don't write back once in a while because of work",said Lyon, looking down at his now empty bowl, while Juvia looked to hers and noticed it was strangely empty too.

"How can I get Gray to notice Juvia?"

"How do I get her to notice me?"

They looked at each other, surprised. Lyon placed the chopsticks on his bowl, turning to look at her with all the seriousness could muster.

"Juvia, I have a plan"

Juvia looked confused, was he asking for her help in wooing Meredy?

"Wha-"

" I know how we can get them both to be jealous at the same time, and I know it will work"

"You don't mean..."

"I do"

"How does Lyon know it will work?"

"Because we've been sitting here for half an hour, and Gray has been glaring at us the whole time. He's sitting at a dango stall behind you- no don't look back"

Juvia sat up straight, suddenly feeling self conscious. A little ashamed of her skills as a mage for not noticing him, she shook her head lightly.Her heart throbbed in her chest and unable to help herself, she glanced at him through the corner of her eye, as he bit harshly at a dango, looking very annoyed.

Gray, her darling, was looking at them? This whole time?

The act seemed to send the butterflies in her stomach into overdrive, as she resisted turning around and calling out to him.

Would her being in a fake relationship with Lyon really work? It hadn't even been an hour and Gray seemed to be acting on his feelings already.

She knew he had feelings for her, and it was high time he expressed them, she decided.

"Juvia will do it"

"Alright, i just need two things in return"

Juvia stared at him blankly, wasn't this going to benefit him as well? What more did he need?

"I just need you to pay for the ramen, i left my wallet in my room", he said, laughing at the frown that took over her face, wincing when she slapped his arm.

"Ow okay okay. I also need to know where Meredy is staying"

Juvia grinned at him, dropping a few coins on the table as they got up. 

"Can't wait to see Meredy already?"

"Shut up", said Lyon, covering the furious blush on his face with one hand as he reached to give her a hug goodbye.

__________________________________________________

Sunlight barely filled the room when Jellal stirred in his sleep, trying to shift his position, his actions halted by an unfamiliar weight on his chest.

How drunk did he get?

He remembered looking around for Erza before he ran into...Makarov.

Cursing himself for not denying the guild master's request, or order, he rubbed his eyes, not having opened them yet, to sit up. Raising himself on his hands and trying to adjust to reality, he squinted his dry eyes in a feeble attempt to see,and felt a cold draft hitting his....bare chest?

Whipping his head down to his torso in horror, he immediately averted his gaze to the ceiling as he tried desperately to remember who he was with.

Was it a mage he didn't know? What was he going to say to her? Should he apologize? Run? Well definitely not the last option. He was honourable...to an extent; apparently no amount of honour could keep him sober.

Inhaling deeply, he begrudgingly opened an eye deciding to face whatever came next.

No matter how ready he was to face his mistakes, no amount could've prepared him for this one.

A head of soft hair lay on the middle of his chest, it's colour he could describe with only one word, _scarlet._

Holy _fuck_.

He was a celestial mage and all the stars above could not have predicted such a turn of events.

The sight in front of him, Erza sprawled on top of him in nothing but her underwear, sent a jolt to his chest and a familiar heat to pool below his belly.

'Shit', he thought, this was not the time to get aroused. He had to wake her up before something _else_ did the deed for him. He silently hoped Erik would poison him in that instant.

He knew it was wrong, they were both drunk and it didn't count, but to him it felt so _good_

Maybe he could stay like that for a little while, wait until she wakes up in horror, before she decided she never wanted to look at him ever again.

No! 

Crap, he thought, slapping himself mentally.

He had to wake her up before the sensation of her skin on his did anything more to him. He'd rather go to prison than face her wrath, or worse, her pain. After all they went through, he had to put her through more misery, didn't he?

Raising one of the arms he used to support himself, he lightly touched her back, stopping for a moment, awestruck by the soft skin, then shook her lightly.

She woke up with a groan, rubbing her eyes and then making direct eye contact with him.

This was it. His entire being froze, waiting for her tears, when she sat up on his lap to give him the most beautiful smile he ever saw.

That was odd

"Morning"

Morning? Was that all she had to say? They very _clearly_ slept together, while they were drunk! And instead of feeling guilty, he just wished he could remember every moment they shared together.

"Morning? That's all you can say?"

She quirked an eyebrow in confusion, clearly not understanding his frustration. 

"Okay, good morning?"

"Erza"

"Yes?"

"We're half naked"

"And?"

And? Was she serious? Was this no big deal to her? Or was it just sleeping with him that was not a big deal?

"Jellal", she sighed, leaning down. Looking at him with a smirk and glint in her eye, she pressed her lips to his, her hands tracing patterns on his abs, causing the hair at the nape of his neck to rise.

Without a word of protest, his hands went to her bare back as he sat up straighter, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer.

The feeling of her skin and their chests in close contact was driving him insane. What was he going to talk about again?

An alarm went off in his head, as he seemed to regain a piece of his consciousness, and with all the will power he could muster, he grabbed her shoulders and lightly shoved her off of him, so they could sit up and talk it out, wanting to avoid any more touching.

Erza, who was clearly confused, looked at him with an expression of hurt and anger, wondering if it was her that made him stop them from going any further.

"Erza, we can't do this. We were both drunk! I didn't want our first time to be like this! This was not how-"

"We did what we did, Jellal. Face it. Or are you going to run away on another mission for redemption?"

Jellal's face contorted with anger as he got off the sofa, standing up with his arms crossed, his build towering over her.

"I went on that MISSION to repent for my sins. It wasn't a fucking amusement park. It was the least I could do while you ate strawberry cake and destroyed a good half of Fiore with your guild"

"You went on that mission to run away from your problems. I forgave you years ago, and the only thing you ever did was get up and leave. Is it so hard for you to face reality?", asked Erza, standing up and looking him in the eye.

"Were our actions last night that dismissible? I've known you for the longest time and you still do not understand me"

"Oh why don't you pack up and fuck off to your fiancé!" 

"I had to say that Erza, I had to make it up! I couldn't get distracted again"

"Is that all I'll ever be to you then? A distraction in your path to absolution?"

"I never said that!" He riled, then sighed. Looking away, added "Last night shouldn't have happened." 

She narrowed her eyes and remarked icily, "It's a shame you can't accept what has happened."

"No, Erza. It's a shame I fell in love with you", he announced, walking to the table, picking up his discarded coat and shirt to leave.

"GET OUT", she yelled, throwing him a glare. Her fists clenched at her sides, as she resisted requipping. Her glare was returned to her with an equal fervour by the mage, before he turned around to leave.

"Gladly", he said, putting on his shirt. He walked out the door, refusing to glance back, at an Erza brimming with tears.

___________________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh Jerza fights. Gray is jealous(again). Nalu and GaLe coming up soon. The plot thickens! What's gonna happen next?
> 
> Feel free to leave a review!


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